Triumph
by Chaseblaire
Summary: Sakura watches Naruto and Sasuke confront each other for the last time, and the outcome is one that none of them expected.


It is ten years after the Shinobi War. Kabuto is dead and Madara, impossible to kill, is a broken wreck sealed inside Gamabunta's stomach.

_Broken bodies everywhere. Sakura stumbles across the battlefield, healing who she can but there's so _many-

Sakura shakes her head, ridding herself of the memories. The present is bad enough- the rookie 11 is down to seven, and she doesn't think Naruto will ever recover from the loss.

She watches him now, as he scans the valley for any sign of _him-_ of _Sasuke_. They have been tracking him for a month now, and this time he has led them to The Land of Waterfalls. Naruto has been chasing the missing-_nin_ for years, each search ending in the inevitable confrontation and battle. So far each fight has ended in a stalemate, both men trembling in exhaustion, barely able to stand.

But Sasuke's vision grows worse with every encounter, and Naruto is only getting stronger

Sakura studies Naruto's face as he feverishly searches the area. His hair is longer, tumbling over his forehead-protector and inhibiting his vision; he shoves it back impatiently. There's a scar running across Naruto's jaw, courtesy of an encounter with Sasuke six years ago. Sakura knows there's another, more recent, curling around his navel, a nasty burn caused by _ameratsu_.

The muscles of Naruto's jaw tighten and his gaze is drawn upward. Sakura imitates him, just in time to see Sasuke wink into existence in the treetops above them.

Sasuke is pale has a sheet with cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass. His hair falls in messy spikes to his shoulders, bangs hanging in his face.

Sakura expects to see him smirk, expects the sarcastic banter and battle-talk that the two will exchange but Sasuke does nothing expect stare blankly at them, looking but not _seeing_.

Naruto is perplexed. "Sasuke!" He shouts, and Sakura can sense his confusion

"Naruto." Sasuke acknowledges, and the battle begins.

Sakura watches from a safe distance; she knows by now that Naruto neither welcomes nor needs her assistance. The fight today seems swifter and more brutal. Naruto moves into sage mode almost immediately; Sasuke is quick to activate _mangekyo sharingan_.

Parts of the battle are too quick for Sakura to follow, but she can see the basic pattern of it: Naruto attacks and Sasuke defends. This isn't natural for their battles. The two men are usually on more equal footing.

Suddenly there's a flash of blue-white light and a high keening: _rasen shuriken_. Naruto hurls it Sasuke, who doesn't even flinch as the chakra ball slams into his chest. Sakura can't help but scream as Sasuke's body is tossed through the air like a rag doll.

Naruto stares, slack jawed. "I thought you'd dodge it! Or use a substitution, a _bunshin_, or something. I didn't think it would _hit_ you…"he gabbles, stunned.

Sasuke glares, barely able to move, red eyes fading back into black. Blood leaks from under his eyelids, leaving rusty red tracks on his cheeks. "I'm your enemy, _baka_. You're _supposed_ to injure me."

Naruto laughs shakily. "Come on, _teme_, get up! Use _susanoo_, or something."

"I'm blind." Sasuke's voice his so low that Naruto can barely hear it, and he lowers his head close to Sasuke's mouth to hear him speak. "I couldn't see the _rasen shuriken_ until it hit me…"

Naruto reels back from Sasuke's battered body, grasping handfuls of grass, uprooting plants and trees with animal strength. Sakura can't hold back a gasp at the brute force he displays.

His eyes bleed into red, pupils narrowing into slits. Naruto's fingernails grow into claws and red begins to gather on is skin. "No! You can't! How are we going to kill each other now!"

"Naruto!"Sakura cries, running forward to try and restrain him, trying to remember the seals Yamato taught.

As she approaches she sees Sasuke, gazing blankly and impassively in Naruto's direction. "We won't," he says, "You're going to kill me."

"What?" The boiling-hot, red _chakra_ frying the air around the Naruto is quenched, and steam surround them both, a screen that Sakura struggles to see through.

"You heard me," Sasuke repeats, calm and matter-of-fact. "You will kill me."

"No." Naruto shakes his head wildly, "No, no, no, _no_. That's not how it's supposed to be."

Sasuke reaches out his hand, pulls a _kunai _from Naruto's holder. His blank, mirror-black eyes never leave Naruto's as he plunges the blade into his own chest. "_Yes,"_ Sasuke whispers, and Sakura can tell by the triumph in his voice that he considers this a victory.

Sasuke has won.


End file.
